Report: John Collins Traded To Los Angeles Clippers For Unbelievable Reason
John Collins has been a consistent frontcourt player for his 8 years in the NBA and will help the Clippers to more wins.

John Collins (Image via Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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When Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers entered their second round series against the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, most fans expected them to have a cakewalk into the Conference Finals. What transpired, instead, was an infamous meltdown by Ben Simmons on offense. It also coincided with Trae Young proving his mettle as a playoff performer, linking up with John Collins to wreak havoc on Embiid and co.
This was John Collins’ fourth NBA season, and only his first when he finished with a winning record for the Atlanta Hawks. The team went on to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Finals in six games. But the run proved to NBA GMs that the Hawks had a core that they could build around. They attempted to consolidate that roster in the seasons that came. But the Hawks failed to win a playoff round after that.
John Collins’ hot shooting was one of the reasons for their 2021 playoff run. But due to a finger injury that he suffered in 2021-22, Collins never got that shooting form back during the rest of his time in Atlanta. After a hapless first round exit in 2023, the Hawks were left to ponder how they could find more help for Trae Young on the defensive end. They sacrificed John Collins in a trade, sending him to Salt Lake City.
John Collins has since had two very productive seasons in Utah. His 3-point shooting seems to have come back to him as he has logged percentages of 37.1 and 39 in the two seasons he spent in Salt Lake City. This enticed the Los Angeles Clippers to trade for him. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on the Hoop Collective podcast, the Jazz were winning too many games with him in the lineup, and wanted to tank fully by trading him away:
He was too damn productive last season. I don’t even remember all the injuries they came up with to make sure he didn’t play. They limited him to 40 games last year. He played in 70+% of their wins. They didn’t win much, but they won too often with John Collins in the lineup and he was a reason.
The Utah Jazz "had to get rid of" John Collins because he was responsible for too many of their wins, per @espn_macmahon
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) July 9, 2025
“I don't even remember all the injuries they came up with to make sure he didn't play. They limited him to 40 games last year.”
(h/t @APH00PS) pic.twitter.com/YskKG8cXe3
How can the new-look Clippers utilize John Collins?
Head coach Tyronn Lue had expressed his disappointment after Norm Powell didn’t rise up to the occasion in this year’s playoffs. This had signaled the Clipper’s likely intentions of sending him away for more help to James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and co.

They used Powell as a trade chip to acquire John Collins and also signed Brook Lopez in free agency for frontcourt help to Ivica Zubac. In turn, they have replaced Norman Powell’s backcourt production with Bradley Beal, who is on a two-year deal with the Clippers. They now have ample shooting in the frontcourt with Collins, Lopez and Leonard and can run pick-and-rolls for James Harden with more outcomes.
Bradley Beal himself is no slouch. The former Wizards and Suns guard shot 49% from the field and 38% from the 3-point line in his time in Arizona. This new group will be expected to have a more egalitarian offensive approach and Beal will be expected to share ballhandling and playmaking duties with 2017-18 NBA MVP James Harden. The Clippers have, yet again, made tangible improvements in a successful offseason.
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